Rememberance day is soon to be upon us on Novermber 11th. This is one of m'favorite songs in rememberance of those who fought......especially when John McDermott is singing it. Would love to read other lyrics of favorite 'war time' or 'songs of rememberance' regarding the war, if anyone else wishes to share.

Green Fields of France

Well, how do you do, young Willie McBride,Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside,And rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun,I've been walkin' all day and I'm nearly done.

I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen,When you joined the great fallen in nineteen sixteen,I hope you died well and I hope you died clean,Or young Willie McBride was it slow and unseen.

CHORUS:Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly?Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?And did the band play The Last Post and Chorus?Did the pipes play The Flowers Of The Forest?

Did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind, In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined. Although you died back in nineteen sixteen, In that faithful heart are you forever nineteen.

Or are you a stranger without even a name, Enclosed then forever behind the glass pane,In an old photograph, torn, battered and stained, And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.

CHORUS

The sun now it shines on the green fields of FranceThere's a warm summer breeze, makes the red poppies dance. And look how the sun shines from under the cloudsThere's no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now.

But here in this graveyard it's still no-man's-land. The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand, To man's blind indifference to his fellow man, To a whole generation that were butchered and damned.

CHORUS

And Willie McBride, I can't help wonder why Do those that lie here know why did they dieAnd did they believe when they answered the call Did they really believe that this war would end war.

For the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain, The killing, and the dying was all done in vain...For, young Willie McBride, it all happened again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

Remembrance Day has a special place in my family memories..... even though I am a pacifist...

Since my father is no longer alive, I watch the ceremony at the Cenotaph on TV in his memory... He used to try to attend when he was alive. When the pipes play 'The Flo'ers o the Forest', it always reduces me to tears.

That lament was played at my father's funeral, and his father's, my mother's and my brother's - and will be at mine....

I wear my red poppy in memory of my dad, his comrades and all others who served this country so well.

I posted a thread about this song further down this forum. I've just posted the words below... This tune is guaranteed to bring tears to most eyes..

It is seldom sung, and it is usually played by a lone piper.

It commemorates Culloden. The 'flo'ers o the forest' are the young men of Scotland...

THE FLO'ERS O THE FOREST

I've heard them liltin',At the ewe milkin,'Lasses a-liltin' before dawn of day.Now there's a moanin',On ilka green loanin'.The flowers of the forest are a' wede away.

As boughts in the mornin',Nae blithe lads are scornin',Lasses are lonely and dowie and wae.Nae daffin', nae gabbin',But sighin' and sobbin',Ilk ane lifts her leglin, and hies her away.

At e'en in the gloamin',Nae swankies are roamin','Mang stacks wi' the lasses at bogle to play.But ilk maid sits drearie,Lamentin' her dearie,The flowers of the forest are a' wede away.

In har'st at the shearin'Nae youths now are jeerin'Bandsters are runkled, and lyart, or grey.At fair or at preachin',Nae wooin', nae fleecin',The flowers of the forest are a' wede away.

Dool for the orderSent our lads to the Border,The English for ance by guile wan the day.The flowers of the forest,That fought aye the foremost,The prime of our land lie cauld in the clay.

We'll hae nae mair liltin',At the ewe milkin',Women and bairns are dowie and wae.Sighin' and moanin'On ilka green loanin',The flowers of the forest are all wede away.

Catriona, that is just beautiful...thank ye for sharing the song and the story of your Father. I can easily see, with just reading the words, how that song could reduce one to tears....let alone, with the family tie it has for you. It is so very touching.

I am not sure if I have heard it before...I probably have, but there are so many piping songs I do not know the titles too. I am going to see if I can find this on one of the music download sites, so I can hear it.

Thank you for the lyrics. After years of piping and playing that tune at numerous Rememberance Day ceremonies, I had never seen the lyrics. Every year, after playing with the pipe band at the legion on Rememberance Day, I would be brought out to a cemetery with all of the soldiers graves. This was the only tune that I ever played at the gravesites.

I wonder if any other country has such an evocative musical instrument? Whether it is happy or sad, the pipes are always so appropriate!

I agree. They have a special place in my heart.

We decided to bundle up the wee ones and head out for our cities Rememberance Day ceremony this year, instead of watching it on the TV. It was wonderful! Our neighbor plays in the Provincial Regiment pipe band which played throughout the ceremony. They played 'The Flo'ers o the Forest' .....and it was so nice to think of the words ye shared with us, as they did.

The piper for my parent's best mans funeral played Flowers of the Forest. Clive had served in the WWII and had liberated Auschwitz. The piper was an Aussie, had to sit, couldn't stand and play anymore. Small old cemetery in the pines, misting and drizzling. Little spring belly flowers in the grass and moss.

I was a guest in 1978 at the RSL (Returned Servicemans League) Hall in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. We had a band on the ship and the RSL was hosting the crew of my ship. At 9:00 they usually have a brief silent rememberance. Our Trumpeter played Last Post, which started the eyes watering and then they played Lilli Marlene, that did it. Most of the regular members were ANZAC vets, their local provisional members (about 8) were on the other side in the desert. Most sang the song. Some made it all the way through.

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Give me a fast ship for I intend to sail in harm's way. - John Paul Jones